WELCOMETOISSUE±12

CONTENTS

COVERSiobhán Barbour

THE LEADERS OF MEN& INTERVIEW

Jonathan Kelham

EMBROIDERY& INTERVIEW

Siobhán Barbour

PAINTINGS& INTERVIEW

Mice Ailing

It’s all about the art for issue 12 as we say goodbye to the sun for another year and welcome back the jumpers we’ve missed. From three very different artists, working in all different mediums, we hope you enjoy the eye candy.

JONATHAN KELHAM

In 2009 at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Jonathan

Kelham began a project named after a Joy

Division song, The Leaders of Men. Far from

stopping there as a half baked university project, it has evolved to include

cartoon imagery, made up letters, intricate

bookcase sketches and a charmingly basic

animation. When he sent me an extensive back

story to the project, complete with intellec-

tualized descriptions behind each dimension

of it I have to admit I was extremely intrigued.

Concerned with the idea of Englishness and what the figures, or characters as he refers to them, mean in the context of personality and aesthetic alongside bookcases which again evoke this sort of stereotype of the English manor, a distinct smell of dust if you will. We caught up to talk to him about his varied characters, from Hitchcock to Captain Pugwash.

S: I personally really like the way you’ve explored the characters with imagery, let-ters and also animation. Was it important for you to create an extensive back story?

JK: Definitely, I really like work that has the ability to create alternative spaces, to produce highly subjective topian worlds where there is a continual ambiguity between fiction & reality. Often these are most effectively produced [I think] when there is this sense of submersion within the work, which manifests itself in making lots of things; so it’s maybe obsessively detailed or continual repetition. The different aspects of the LOM back story, are a attempt to provide multiple & multilayer reference points to evoke these qualities. Henry Darger, Gregor Schneider’s Haus u r, Madge Gill or Paul Noble’s Nobson Newtown are all much better examples of this.

SWEAT: Why did you decide to explore the ever illusive

idea of Englishness?

Jonathan Kelham: Through a interest in the relationship

between the intentionally constructed portrayal of this

particular sense of Englishness & the certainly talented, often

egotistical character. The work started with Philip Larkin, a

perfect example of the ambiguous representation of a

peninsular, melancholic, romanticised Englishness,

nether the less a highly talented & successful individual

who conflictingly underlined both portrayals.

S: The project is named after a Joy Division song and you

include Ian Curtis as one of the characters, what is

it about them that captures your imagination?

JK: The reason for including Ian Curtis [Ian Curtis Officer

Dibble] in the work, was specifically to do with him as an individual rather than the

band Joy Division [i.e. I would not include any other members

of the band within the work]. The melancholic, anxious

outsider who conversely was an abundantly gifted & soon

to be successful individual reflects the conflicting, roman-ticised ideas embedded within the LOM work. Whilst the use

of the particular record re-leased on An Ideal For Living EP [1978] , references a spe-

cific social, political & historical period within England, further

informing the LOM.

S: What are you working on next?

JK: Within the Leaders Of Men work is always creating new characters, [currently including: Brian Clough the Brain & Mark E. Smith Spotty Man] which inadvertently leads to further bookcase, letters etc. Whilst currently in the process of pro-posing/preparing a Leaders Of Men Tour of local remote, pe-ninsular village halls in a series of shows which would generate new works including animation, objects & advertising. On a completely different note, some ongoing text based series CM3 about the football management computer game Championship Manager.

S: Loud or quiet?LK: Quiet

For moreJonathan Kelham head to:

jkelham.com

SIOBHÁN BARBOUR

Knitting was cool for a bit, but its subversive stitching that is really creating a buzz. From

independent embroiders to whole organisations

like The Craftivist Collective. One of the

most exciting practitioners we’ve

come across is Siobhan Barbour. With a huge

following on tumblr she stitches everything from

Nick Cave and Bloodhound Gang lyrics

to tampons. Based out of Northern Ireland she’s

at the heart of a group of great new textile

artists culminating in the group show Sew Risqué.

We caught up with her to ask some questions

about her work.

SWEAT: What first made you pick up a needle & thread?

Siobhan Barbour: My experience was very much like a lot of other people’s - I spent a lot of time with my grandmother when I was growing up and she taught me how to do all kinds of things; how it knit, how to sew, how to embroider and how to quilt. I picked up the knitting needles again at university as a way to reduce the amount of time I seemed to spend smoking.

S: Do you still think there’s a lot of snobbishness towards textile art?

SB: I think because I’m approaching things from a crafts / DIY perspective, I haven’t come across much snobbishness or elitism thus far. I don’t have an art degree, let alone a degree in textiles; my background is in theatre!

S: What is your favourite sampler from those that

you’ve made?

SB: My favourite cross-stich piece to date is probably one of the first I did; it’s white-on-black

with an antique-style border and just reads “Suck my left

one”. As for the freehand work, my favourites are probably the

pair of self-portraits I did for the Sew Risqué show.

S: What are you up to next?

SB: I’ll be continuing to make work for sale; at the moment

I’m getting myself organised to sell things online so as to make

my needlework available to more than just the local

markets in Belfast. I use my blog to motivate myself and

document what I make and I’m hoping to present some more work for exhibition before the

end of this year.

S: Tradition or modernism?

SB: I’m very fond of traditional patterns and when it comes to cross-stitch, I turn to antique needlework pattern books for many of my motifs and lettering. I bought a collected edition of old issues of Sajou in Paris last year and it was worth every cent. That said, much of my content is derived from song lyrics, movies, etc., so it’s fairly modern in that regard. The juxtaposition of the two is what interests me the most. My freehand work may appear modern, but it is very much grounded in traditional techniques.

For moreSiobhan Barbour

head to her website:http://fingerpricks.com/

or her etsy shop:http://www.etsy.com/shop/lithy

MICE AILINGThere’s something creepy yet hypnotic about the

picture at the top of Mice Ailing’s blog, wonderfully titled, “Me, Mice-Self and I”. Dabbling in everything creatively inclined from photography to painting,

she masters them all. We asked her a few questions about art, life, and uhr... pencils. Along with some

exclusive pictures for your viewing pleasure...

S: What’s next for you?

MA: I have no serious plans with my painting yet. It will still be a passion and will always be. My friends are marketing my work as artworks for your kid’s room which I find really interesting. :) I will just continue filling those journal pages and if someone fancies them, they usually contact me and I rec-reate it for them at a slightly bigger size.

S: Pen or pencil?

MA: It will have to be pencil. I love the plethora of grades of shades it can give.

For more MiceVisit her blog:

www.micealiling.comFollow her twitter:

@ mice_alilingOr facebook:

tinyurl.com/micealiling

SWEAT: Have you always kept a diary for drawing in?

Mice Ailing: Yes, I’ve always kept a journal for my drawings and other scattered thoughts.

Journals were initially homes of random thoughts, poems and sometimes just phrases. Now

mostly it is drawings, collages, paintings...

S: What inspires you?

MA: What excites me inspires me. New things. Travelling to a place I’ve never been is at

the top. Doing something I’ve never done. Lyrics of a song.

Poetry. There’s never just one thing that keeps me inspired.

S: What’s your favourite creative outlet?

MA: It will have to be mixed media painting. Running up

second is photography.

SWEATISSUE±12WEBSITE:sweatzine.blogspot.comE-MAIL:sweat.zine@gmail.com